A is for Apple

First of all, I apologize to those of you who have been checking my blog only to discover that nothing has been posted. 1.) I am terrible at keeping any kind of journal/blog (but I am trying to overcome that). 2.) I have been quite busy adjusting to life here and teaching. Anyway, no more lame excuses.

Life in Peru has been an adventure. I think I've recovered from the shock of being here. For the first few days I kept thinking, "What am I doing here? I'm here for eight months? Am I capable of doing this?" But as the days and now two weeks have passed by, I've settled into this place that I will call home for the next eight months of my life. 

A lot has happened in just a couple of weeks. I preached my first sermon, I rode on the back of a motorcycle, I've used an outhouse (affectionately called the squat pot), seen a toad the size of a cantelope, and have been called "gringa" more times than I can count.

I think what I have enjoyed most is teaching, which I guess is good since that will be my primary job here at AMOR Projects. The kids have been great, with the exception of one rowdy class, but the Lord got me through that day--I think they just wanted attention and that was how they chose to beg for it.

I've been spending the majority of my mornings and afternoons with kids in three different schools--Yerbas Buenas, Santa Elvita, and Km 37. They range from ages 3 to 13, all cute and in need of lots of attention. The kids here have been picking up English quite quickly. Class time is spent teaching the kids various vocabulary and useful phrases. My favorite day was when we learned how to have a simple conversation on the phone. At this point in time my kids can say, "Hello, this is ___________, is Jennifer there?" So maybe we have a ways to go, but there are four more months left of classes. My students have also been helping me with my Spanish along the way. They tend to finish my sentences with the correct vocabulary.

While I've been out teaching, the rest of the SM team has been training for their first campaign. SM's have been practicing giving IV's, carbocaine, and stitching up pigs. On one afternoon after my classes, two of the SM's taught me how to suture a pig's head--it was pretty exciting. I don't know if I will ever use those skills while I'm here, but you never know.

Since I so conveniently chose to blog two weeks after my arrival, I have too much to tell and not enough stamina to type it all out. I'll attempt to get better at this blogging thing. Until then, thanks for your prayers and support.